arrivava

Arrivava is the third-person singular imperfect indicative form of the Italian verb arrivare, meaning to arrive. As an imperfect tense, it describes ongoing or habitual past action rather than a completed event. It is used to set scenes, provide background, or indicate repeated past behavior in narratives and descriptions.

Grammatical details: Arrivare is a regular first-conjugation verb. In the imperfect, the endings are -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano. Therefore arrivava corresponds to lui/lei (he/she) in the imperfect. The form can also express a past habitual action, for example, "Ogni giorno arrivava puntuale" (Every day he arrived on time).

Common usage notes: In Italian, the subject pronoun is often omitted because verb inflection makes the subject clear. Arrivava frequently appears with time markers or conjunctions such as quando, mentre, or ogni volta, to indicate past continuity, simultaneous actions, or recurring events.

Examples:

- Quando arrivava il treno, la stazione era affollata. Translation: When the train was arriving, the station was crowded.

- Ogni estate arrivava sempre a mezzogiorno. Translation: Every summer he used to arrive at noon.

Related forms: The verb’s other imperfect forms include arrivavo (io), arrivavi (tu), arrivava (lui/lei), arrivavamo (noi), arrivavate (voi), arrivavano (loro). The infinitive arrivare and related derivatives (arrivo, arrivato) form the broader verb family.

See also: Italian verb conjugation, imperfect tense (imperfetto), arrivate phrases.